Sony admits PS3 compatibility hiccup

Sales near 90,000 during first two days

Sony has yet to lend its voice to the argument, but independent commentators have claimed the consumer electronics giant sold just shy of 90,000 PlayStation 3 consoles this past weekend. Sony did admit that not all PSOne and PS2 games run on the new machine. Whoops.

Of course, not all Xbox games run on the Xbox 360, but while Microsoft decided to implement backwards compatibility through software, using an emulator, Sony took the more costly approach of incorporating the PS2's EE+GS chip and other components.

Which is why the company's admission that around 200 old games won't run properly on the PS3 may prove a blow. Some don't run at all, others work but without some audio functionality, according to Reuters. But plenty more will work just fine, so it's questionable just how much of a problem this is for Sony.

Indeed, how important is backwards compatibility at all? Hardcore console gamers tend to be happy having multiple machines spread around their TV.

Meanwhile, according to Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain, Sony sold 88,400 PS3s on Saturday and Sunday - less than the 100,000 the manufacturer said it would ship in Japan for the launch but more than the 80,000 Japanese newspaper Nikkei Keizai Shimbun had claimed Sony would ship.

Either way, there's no doubt demand is there for the new console.

Enterbrain claimed around 62 per cent of PS3s purchased were the more expensive, 60GB model, and that Namco Bandai's Ridge Racer 7 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight topped the PS3 sales chart with sales of around 30,000 each. ®